


Not a Rom-Com

by anonony



Series: Seducing A Hot Alien Prince 101 [14]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, M/M, temporary break-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-21 10:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13739451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonony/pseuds/anonony
Summary: “You’re MARRIED?” Lance demanded.“Married is...a strong word.” Lotor said, letting his hair fall into his face. “Technically ‘bonded’ would be more appropriate, but--”“That is NOT better!” Lance screamed pacing back and forth.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AND SO THE ANGSTY PLOT TRAIN HITS
> 
> I'm going to try to keep this to 3 chapters, might bleed over to 4, depending. 
> 
> I don't have smut planned for this, but who knows what these crazy kids will do. So I'll up the rating should need be.

“You’re MARRIED?” Lance demanded.

“Married is...a strong word.” Lotor said, letting his hair fall into his face. “Technically ‘bonded’ would be more appropriate, but--”

“That is NOT better!” Lance screamed pacing back and forth. 

 

6 hours earlier

“It’s a rom com!” Lance said, “a really simple romantic comedy, one of the simplest structures on the planet. They meet, they fall in love despite themselves, one of them messes up in a way that’s not irredeemable but bad enough for them to break up, but then there’s a whole big celebration and he, it’s usually he, declares he loves her and they make up and kiss and it’s all happily ever after.”

Lotor raised an eyebrow as Lance finished setting up and plopped next to Lotor on the couch. “Is this how romances go on your planet?”

“Mm, not really,” Lance said, “it’s like….it’s like porn but for romance. Not realistic, but good to watch.”

Lotor instantly wrapped an arm around him. “Your entertainment is fascinating. Why is none of it realistic?”

“It’s fantasy! Don’t you have...Galran movies or something?” Lance asked, snuggling into Lotor.

“Hmm,” Lotor thought, “There are...similar things. But they’re a bit more modern, and I haven’t partaken in them, really.”

Lance grumped. “Well, what did you do for fun?”

“Hair care,” Lotor answered without skipping a beat. Lance giggled, and then shushed himself as the movie started.

Honestly, the both of them probably made out more than they watched the movie, but Lance was right, the movies plot wasn’t too difficult to follow.

Lotor had Lance pinned to the couch, sucking marks on his neck as the male lead of the movie ran through the rain to get back the girl, when suddenly, they were interrupted by “whoa! Guys, the couch? Really?”

They broke apart to look up at Hunk who was turned away from them. “Oh, hey Hunk,” Lance said, patting Lotor to prompt him to reluctantly sit up. “‘Sup?”

Now that they were no longer making out, Hunk was willing to look at them. “We’re coming up on a planet, Allura wants us in the control room.”

Lance sighs, “will saving the universe never cease?” He kissed Lotor on the cheek, “see you later babe.”

“Oh, Lotor can come to,” Hunk said.

Lotor narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Why?” He asked, dryly. 

“‘Cause I asked Allura if you could come and she said yes?” Hunk said, “you don’t have to.”

Lotor hummed to himself staring Hunk down. Hunk smiled back, unaffected. “...I’ll come.”

“Great!” Hunk said, nodding his head toward the hallway to indicate they should follow him, “c’mon.”

He started heading down as Lotor and Lance got off the couch to follow him. Lance dragged behind a tick, holding Lotor’s arm. “What was that all about?” He asked quietly. 

Lotor frowned, his eyes fixed on Hunk ahead of them. “The yellow Paladin has been oddly...friendly towards me recently.”

“Really?” Lance said, “that’s great!”

Lotor looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “He’s clearly planning something.”

Lance scoffed. “Or….Maybe he’s just Hunk, the friendliest guy in the universe and my best friend, and he’s trying to give you a chance for my sake?”

Lotor hummed, frowning as he considered it. “Highly unlikely.”

Lance rolled his eyes and pulled him along to the control room.

 

“The Paquador system,” Coran said, bringing up the image set, “Amazing, 10,000 years ago, all the life on this planet was completely primitive, no sentient life at all, but look at them now! A whole civilization, with lunar colonies and everything.”

“Looks like the Galra May have been the ones to make the colonies.” Pidge said, going over her scans, “there are several mines set up on the moons, full of Gorzite.”

“What the heck is Gorzite?” Lance asked.

“It’s what the Galra use to make their sentries,” Matt said, “there’s a factory on the planet to actually make them. But...from our scans of their shipping lines, it doesn’t look like they’ve been sending the sentries to any known Galra locations...not recently, anyway.”

Lance might have been imagining it, but he could have sworn Lotor was...stiffer than usual.

“We should go in and destroy those factories,” Shiro said.

“Now, hold on,” Allura said, “there’s no sign of the Galra around here, it looks like this planet is more self-sustaining. If we can go down and meet with the leaders of the planet, convince them to shut the factories down.”

Lotor cleared his throat, gaining everyone’s attention. “I think that’s a bad idea. I’ve been to Paquador before, the people are...aggressive. They have an overly strict caste system, and are overly sensitive to any insults. Not a good choice for a new member of the coalition.”

Allura stared him down. “We don’t have the luxury of choosing whom we take into the coalition, if you’ll remember.” Lotor sneered at her. “As it is, we still need to do something about that sentry factory. And--”

Alarms started going off around the castle. Pidge typed on her console, “Galra ships incoming, intercept course to Paquador.”

“Everyone, to your lions!” Shiro shouted, and they all ran to their respective tubes, Coran and Matt taking position to fire on enemy ships from the castle. 

None of them noticed Lotor slipping away. 

 

The fight was not nearly as brutal as it could have been. Paquador sent ships into the fight as well, going against the Galra cruisers, and fighting alongside Voltron. Lotor was right about one thing, they were an aggressive race. 

The commander of the Paquador fleet hailed them and Lance’s eyes went wide. He was like the damn Red Hulk, with no hair, 4 arms, and giant tusks. “Who are you?” The commander snarled. 

Shiro cleared his throat, surprised at his aggressiveness, “We’re the paladins of Voltron,” he said. No clear response. “Uh...leaders of the Voltron Coalition? Defenders of the Universe? We fight the Galra Empire?”

“Good.” The Commander said, simply. 

Shiro waited, but that was clearly all he wanted to say on the matter. “Uh. Yeah, it is. Um. We were wondering--”

“We were wondering if, since you also seem to be against the Empire,” Allura butted in, “If you would be willing to join that coalition.”

“Only the Grand Superior can make that decision,” the commander said.

“Right...well,” Allura bit her lip, trying to figure out the best phrasing. “May we...see them?”

Like that, the signal went off. The paladins exchanged confused looks over their own video screens, when Pidge piped up, “I think they’re leading us down.”

Shiro took a deep breath, “Well. Let’s go.”

 

The planet, or at least the part of the planet they were in, was covered in thick rainforests. Lance gladly held his hand out into the rain as the paladins gathered together to walk through the capitol. “Well. Looks like Lotor’s right, they are overly aggressive.”

“Aggressive, maybe,” Hunk said, “And...don’t talk much, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good for the coalition. My gut’s saying these guys are okay.”

“Your gut?” Allura asked, curious.

Hunk patted his stomach. “Gut’s never wrong. Usually about food, but about trusting people as well.”

“Hm. Usually I’M the naive one.” Lance said, raising his eyebrow at his best friend. 

Pidge rolled her eyes, “You just believe anything your BOYFRIEND tells you.” 

Lance stuck out his tongue at her. “Listen, I know you all have reason to distrust him, I get it. But he doesn’t lie to m.” Pidge scoffed. “He doesn’t! In fact, a lot of the time...you know, when we’re alone...he’s actually really sweet.”

Hunk patted him on the back, “I’m sure he is, buddy.”

Pidge still scrunched up her face. She looked like she was literally biting her tongue to stop herself from speaking. “Alright, spit it out before you hurt yourself,” Lance said. 

Pidge took a deep breath, “Look….I know I’ve been….unfair to Lotor in the past,” She looked down in shame, “But...I mean, it kinda makes me uncomfortable that he only seems decent when he’s alone with you.” 

Lance didn’t respond, thinking. “Are you implying he’s secretly manipulating me?”

Pidge ran a hand through her hair, “No, not exactly. Just. He acts completely different when he’s with you compared to when he’s with us. And...that just makes me uncomfortable, as someone who cares about you. Does that make sense?”

Lance chewed on his inner cheek, thinking more. It’s not like he’s never had doubts in his relationship with Lotor, but...he supposed he was sometimes just...making excuses for him. “I guess...but I--”

“Hold the chatter for a minute,” Shiro said, holding his metal hand over his eyes as he looked up at the sky. “The rain’s getting heavier…”

They paused a moment, noting the sound of drops hitting their armor speeding up. In the distance they saw a sheet, a solid sheet of rain coming towards them. “Get indoors!”

They ran, hands over their eyes. Lance nearly ran headfirst into a giant statue in the middle of the road before Allura pulled him out of the way.

They made it to the capitol where the guards reluctantly let them in.

Inside there were giant, tusked aliens like the commander, but now Lance could see in addition to 4 arms, they had 4 legs, and a tail, giving them an insect like appearance. They also were not all Red, but many were yellow, or green. The yellow ones were finely dressed in shiny metals and fabrics, while the green all had identical uniforms, and seemed to be servants, passing by and carrying supplies where they needed to go. The red ones were all in uniforms too, but they all carried some form of weapon. They were bigger than the others, too.

Finally, they were taken to what must be the throne room. Two thrones sat before them, one empty, and one filled with the first blue Paquadoran they’d seen.

Allura stepped forward, full diplomatic smile on her face, “Grand Superior, I presume. I am Princess Allura of Altea, current Blue Paladin of Voltron. We have come today to see if you would be willing to join your forces with the Voltron Coalition, that has already managed to reclaim much of the empire back from the Galrans. We offer protection for you and your planet, in exchange for protecting others.”

The blue Paquadoran smiled. “A worthy offer, Princess, but I’m afraid I am not the Grand Superior,” Allura blinked in surprise. “I am the Grand Superior’s mate, Chekosh. The Grand Superior is currently off planet.”

“Ah…” Allura said, trying not to be too evident in her disappointment, “do you know when they’ll return?”

“It’s impossible to say,” Chekosh said, “The Grand Superior has been gone for many years…” He smiled, sadly, “I do miss him...but I’ve looked after the planet’s wellbeing as much as I can in his absence. Something like this, though…” He shook his head, “I cannot make this decision alone.” 

He stands abruptly. He was smaller than all of the Paquadorans they’d seen so far. “In thanks for your help today in the fight against the Galra, I invite you to dinner to wait out the storm. I shall send an envoy to the Grand Superior, but...I do not think he will get back to me quickly.”

Allura sighed. “Thank you, Chekosh. We gladly accept your offer.” She turned back to the paladins as the Paquadoran’s started to lead them to the dining hall. “I want to find out everything we can about this ‘Grand Superior.’”

 

This was a simple task. The Grand Superior was ALL Chekosh could and would talk about. “No, no, you misunderstand, Princess,” Chekosh said, “The Grand Superior is not Paquadoran. He came to us many years ago and won our freedom from the Galra,” He smiled, “And won my heart as well.”

Lance and Hunk, suckers for a good romance, beamed at him. “I see,” Allura said, more dubiously, “Still, I find it...odd, that a leader would leave his people for such great a time.”

“We get visits from him intermittently, or sometimes his followers” Chekosh said, “It’s not enough for my taste, but, one cannot try and capture a storm. It travels where it will, and we can only admire it.” 

“Awwwww,” Lance and Hunk said. Pidge coughed something vaguely similar to, “Gross!” 

“And, the sentries,” Shiro said, all business, “You send them to him?”

Chekosh nodded eagerly, “He uses them to help other planets like ours. He has so much love in his heart…”

Lance grinned, “Sounds like a real hero,” he said, “We could use him.” 

“I’m sure he’ll want to help,” Chekosh said, “He’s...he’s simply amazing….” Chekosh’s eyes got misty as he looked into the distance, no doubt remembering his mate’s latest visit.

Shiro patted his mouth with his napkin, plate empty. “Well, it was wonderful speaking with you, Chekosh, but we must be going. Is it possible for you to send us a signal when the Grand Superior gives you his decision?”

“I would be willing, but I’m afraid it’s not possible,” Chekosh said, “The Gorzite in our moons interferes with all communication signals, nothing gets past our solar system. However, I shall send an envoy to the nearest Coalition planet, they should be able to get you the message.”

“Thank you, Chekosh,” Allura said, standing, “For everything.” 

Chekosh nodded.

 

They were escorted out of the palace where the rain had lightened. While Chekosh had been talkative, the guards were not, no matter how much they were prodded for information. 

“Guys…” Hunk said as they were halfway to their destination, “Guys….look,”

They all turned on their heels and looked at the statue Lance had nearly run into on their way in. On the base it was clearly labeled “Grand Superior”....and as for the statue itself….

The statue was an exact replica of Prince Lotor.

 

On the ship, Matt and Coran were quickly filled in on the situation as Lance paced back and forth, still fuming. “Not better at ALL. You didn’t think to mention, not once, not even in passing, just think to tell me YOU ARE BONDED TO SOMEBODY ELSE.”

“It wasn’t relevant,” Lotor said, “There was no ceremony or declaration of love or anything. I just slept with Chekosh, and in Paquadoran tradition that means we’re mated for life.”

“Are you saying you didn’t know about the tradition when you slept with him?” Pidge asked, desperately not trying to look like the cat that ate the canary. 

Lotor clicked his tongue, “I...did know,” he said. Lance threw his arms up in exasperation, “But I certainly don’t hold to the same tradition. I don’t care for him that way, and I certainly don’t consider us BONDED.”

“Well HE sure does,” Lance said, “He was over the moons about you! All damn 3 of them!” 

“Look, I understand the situation isn’t ideal,” Lotor hissed, “Which is why I didn’t want you all to GO there!”

“So we wouldn’t find out you’re little secret?!” Lance demanded, his voice raising higher and louder. 

“It’s not a secret!” Lotor said, “I just knew it would make you upset and it’s irrelevant anyhow, so let it go!”

Lance screwed up his whole face, shaking with rage, “How FUCKING DARE YOU--”

“Lance!” Shiro shouted over him, “This is clearly something you two need to talk out, but I need to ask Lotor some questions first.” Lance scowled, wanting to fight him, Lotor, and just about everyone in the damn universe, but kept his growl to himself as he turned away from Lotor, not bearing to look at him any longer. “So…” Shiro said, “You….mated….Chekosh to become Grand Superior?”

“No.” Lotor said, “I became Grand Superior by saving their planet from the Galra Empire. And after a….tragic accident befell the former Superior and his chosen replacement, the entire populace called for me to take the position.”

“And you magnanimously stepped into the role,” Allura said, dryly.

“I did, as it happens.” Lotor said, “But I couldn’t stay there forever--”

“Too many other planets to overthrow,” Pidge interjected.

“--So I left Chekosh in charge,” He said. “Chekosh is from a lower caste, his family is all factory workers. But he is a good leader, surely you saw that. He’s kind and diplomatic, where the other’s are brutal. He would never have been accepted as leader without his bond to me.”

“And I’m sure you did all this out of the kindness of your heart,” Matt said sarcastically.

Lotor glared him down. “I won’t lie and say I didn’t have...my own motivations. But no matter what I wanted, I did good for those people, and left it a better place. Surely you can all see that.”

“I want to ask about those motivations,” Shiro said. “Specifically, what you did with all the sentries Chekosh sent you.”

Lotor took a deep breath. Lance recognized that breath. That breath meant ‘I really wish you hadn’t asked me that.’ “A variety of things,” Lotor said, “Many of them were lost when I sent them into the rift in realities, trying to see if there was a way of extracting the comet. Others helped build my ships, protect my base, other such duties. I imagine they were all taken or shut down when Haggar infiltrated that base.”

“Moving onto the coalition side of things,” Hunk said, “Can you send a message to them or something to allow them to join?”

Lotor shook his head. “The Gorzite interferes with signals, remember? If I sent it, Chekosh would know I was in the solar system. And….” Lance could feel Lotor’s eyes on him, “That’s not a good idea right now.”

“So, wait,” Matt said, “Did you just come visit EVERY time you needed to talk to the Paquadoran’s?”

“Hardly,” Lotor said, “Usually I’d just sent Acxa or Narti.”

“Acxa’s with the Blade now,” Shiro said, “If we contacted Keith, he could maybe convince her to come here and give ‘Lotor’s’ message for us.”

“It’s possible,” Lotor said, “But then again, Acxa’s not much of a fan of mine, at the moment.”

“She’s not the only one.” Lance muttered, loud enough for them all to hear. 

There were several long drawn out ticks of silence. Finally, Lotor said, “If...you’re done asking questions...I think Lance and I have to have a discussion.”

Lance half turned, still refusing to look at Lotor, but he could see Shiro out the corner of his eye. 

Shiro gave the slightest of head nods, and Lance marched out of the room, not looking to see if Lotor followed him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Lotor have a discussion. It does not go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHH You're comments have been driving me that I wrote this whole chapter in a day. It hasn't helped that I've kinda been thinking of how this scene will go for....a long time. or maybe it did help....hmmm......  
> Anyway, hope it lives up to expectations.

Lance thought about heading for his own room, but decided against it. He wanted to yell and not be overheard, and he wanted the option to storm out if need be. Lotor’s room it was. 

He could hear Lotor following behind him, one stride for every two of Lance’s. It was a steady, even pace of footsteps. Everything Lotor did was steady and even, it felt like. Never before had it pissed Lance off so much. Or maybe he was just pissed at Lotor in general. 

Once he reached Lotor’s room, he felt suddenly stuck. His walking at least burned off some energy, but not enough. If anything he felt more fired up. And he certainly didn’t want to face Lotor right now. 

Instead he stared at the opposite wall, waiting for Lotor to enter behind him and close the door. There was a moment of silence as they both debated who would go first, when Lotor decided it should apparently be him. “You’re jealous.”

Lance scoffed. “I have a right to be jealous when it turns out my boyfriend is MARRIED.”

“I told you, it’s not--”

“I don’t care.” Lance snapped at him. He turned his head just slightly to catch Lotor in the corner of his eye, “It’s close enough.”

Lotor took a step forward. Lance tensed, and he stopped. “It was years before I met you,” Lotor said, “I haven’t contacted him since I came to the castle. And even then…” Lotor took another step, “He meant nothing to me, not compared to you.”

It should have been reassuring. It sounded reassuring. But it only made Lance tense up more. “How am I supposed to believe that anymore?”

He could almost hear Lotor quirking an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

Finally, finally Lance turned to face him, his breath shaky as he stared into Lotor’s yellow and blue eyes. “Chekosh….he loves you. You should have heard him today, he’s SO in love with you. And he thinks you’re in love with him.”

Lotor frowned, “But I’m not.”

“Exactly!” Lance said, his voice starting to rise, “But he THINKS that! Just like I THINK you love me, and I’m sure all your other conquests THINK you love them! But how do I know? How do I know I haven’t been fooled right alongside Chekosh?”

Lotor shook his head, daring to step forward again. “Lance. You KNOW I love you.”

Lance started tearing up. “I don’t--”

“Lance. You are the only person I’ve loved like this. In my entire life. Yes, I’ve had other partners, but they? They don’t love me. Chekosh doesn’t love me he loves an idea of me, a part of myself I decided to show him so that he would love me, and follow me, and do what I asked. You….you have seen more of me than I ever meant to show….anyone. You read me and understood me and didn’t turn away. That…” One final step, and he put his hands on Lance’s shoulder, “That is why I love you.”

Lance sniffled, his tears starting to fall. He wanted to believe Lotor, and maybe a part of him did, but honestly he still had this sick turning in his stomach. “Maybe I didn’t know you after all….” he muttered, shrugging off Lotor’s hands. 

“What do you mean?” Lotor asked, and Lance could hear hurt in his voices.

“You don’t even feel bad about it, do you?” Lance spit at him, beginning to pace again, the anger fueling him forward.

“About what?” Lotor said, and his honest confusion pissed Lance off even more. 

“Seriously?” Lance demanded of him, gritting his teeth. Lotor continued to look confused. “Lying! Manipulating Chekosh like that, AND his traditions. You knew exactly what you were doing and….and not caring about him makes it worse!”

“Wait,” Lotor said, trying to keep things straight, “I thought you were JEALOUS of Chekosh.”

“I AM,” Lance said, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t empathize with him! I mean, we both know what it’s like to be seduced by you for YOUR personal gain!”

“I thought we were past this!” Lotor said, “You knew why I first seduced you! But it became more than that. You--YOU said we were past this!”

“Well it looks like the past’s coming back to bite us!” Lance said. “Don’t you see….do you even understand that that’s wrong? Manipulating people’s emotions like that? Chekosh has been caught up on you for YEARS, waiting for you to come back to him, meanwhile you’re off flying around with me! And how many other people across the universe have devoted themselves to you? Or think you’re coming back to them? It’s wrong and cruel!”

“I left Chekosh a PLANET to be in charge of,” Lotor said, “I assure you, he’s not suffering.”

“He’s a nice person,” Lance said, “You said it yourself, he’s kind. He deserves a mate that will actually care about him. Can he even have a mate now? They mate for life, but you’ve clearly already said you don’t want him. Have you just stolen his chance at having a mate forever? 

Lance hadn’t even realized he was charging forward at Lotor until Lotor took a step back.

Lotor took several long breaths, staring Lance down, his calm demeanor giving way to his own small spark of anger. “When I set out on my own, I didn’t have a superweapon, like Voltron,” He said, standing straighter and his face turning colder, “I didn’t have an army, or a fleet of ships like my father, and I didn’t really have magic like the Witch.” He stepped forward again, towering over Lance, “I did what I had to do to make allies. And I assure you, I was a hell of a lot nicer than my father would be.”

“Amazing how even though you keep saying how different you are from your father, you still hide behind him,” Lance said, refusing to back down or be intimidated, even as Lotor’s eyes flashed with anger. “Yes, Lotor, you are a better man than the person who enslaved half the universe but that doesn’t make everything you do alright. You still have to take responsibility for your actions!” 

“I helped people,” Lotor snarled, “We can argue about my motivations until the universe implodes, but no matter why I did, I DID. I HELPED the Paquadorans, and maybe it didn’t live up to your moral code, but they’re a LOT better off now than they were.”

“Oh, we ARE going to talk about your motivations, Princey,” He said the nickname specifically to annoy him, “Because the fact of the matter is, you don’t CARE about people.” 

“I care about you,” Lotor said, though with his tone he might have been threatening Lance, “I TRUST you, I promised you I would never lie to you and I haven’t.”

“You certainly haven’t told me the whole truth about you, either.” Lance said, “You never told me about Chekosh. You STILL never told me what you wanted with all that damn quintessence Ezor and Zethrid told us about, and you DEFINITELY haven’t told me all the shady things you’ve done in your past, because I’m not naive, Lotor, I KNOW seducing foreign leaders can’t be the worst of it.”

“No, but I DID tell you I had trouble with being honest,” Lotor’s face had formed a snarl, his hands balled into fists as his own anger grew, “and YOU said you were okay with that, that we could take it slow. All you had to do was ask, any of those questions, and I would have told you.”

“Well, I’m asking now!” Lance threw his arms up in frustration. “What do you want, Prince Lotor, What is it you’re really after?”

“I WANT TO KILL MY FATHER!” Lotor yelled at him, loud enough and close enough to Lance’s face to make him flinch, “Are you happy now? No, I don’t care about all the sniveling civilians you care for and reach out to help. But I know enough to know NONE of it matters, none of the hospitals you build or the alliances you make, or the snotty children that you hold, none of it will matter if you cannot kill Emperor Zarkon. In 10,000 years, Zarkon has come close to death ONCE, and it took your black paladin from you, however temporarily, and nearly destroyed Voltron. We will need a LOT more if you plan on actually taking back the empire.” 

Lotor was the one to turn from Lance now, pacing off his own anger. “And once he’s dead...and his witch with him...I can step up and take over the Empire.” Something in Lance’s blood ran suddenly cold. “I can free all the slaves you care so much about. I can build a better empire than my father, where all the planets are united, not by force, but because they want to. I would show mercy to my allies, and together we could strike down our enemies.”

Lance gulped, watching Lotor’s back, a dark realization settling in. As Lotor spoke, his voice grew lower and graveled and….he sounded….he sounded just like Zarkon. “And…” Lance said, swallowing as he realized how dry his mouth had become, “And...what if the other planets...don’t want to?” Lance asked, desperate to not let his voice shake. 

Lotor turned to him, a smug smile stretched on his face. “I think we both know I can be very persuasive.” Lance could not stop his shudder. 

Lotor must have misread him entirely, because he stepped back into Lance’s space, taking his hands kindly in his own. “I know...we promised to take our relationship slowly...and I intend to hold to that promise, but I must admit….there’s a part of me that can’t help but imagine standing before the empire as their new leader,” he raised his hand to gently stroke Lance’s face, “With you by my side.”

Lance felt like he might throw up. He shuddered, breaking Lotor’s grip from him and backing away, all the way to the far wall. “I don’t…” he said, not able to stop the shaking in his voice this time, “Lotor...I don’t want that.” He wiped a tear away before it had the chance to fall. He could see Lotor’s face falling. “I NEVER wanted...wanted to lead an Empire...I just….honestly, I just want to go home.”

Lotor’s eyebrows creased together in the exact same way they did whenever Lance referenced something from Earth, as though he honestly couldn’t understand. “Well,” he started, clearly not sure where to go from here, “Well...either way, that’s a long way off,” he said, “we...we still have a war to fight, we don’t need to figure this all out yet.” 

Lance hugged his arms close to his chest, clenching his jaw, “What is it now?” Lotor asked, frustrated, and….Lance wasn’t sure, but possibly….scared.

Lance shook his head. “I just...I’m not naive.” He said, “I knew...I knew who you were….are. I fought against you when you were Emperor Pro-Tem. I knew you’d done things….things like this.” He gestured to the area around him, not being specific but hoping Lotor understood the situation with Chekosh. “I guess I just thought...I thought you’d changed.” 

“I have changed,” Lotor said, “I changed for you. You think the person who was exiled, the Prince who seduced Chekosh could ever truly love somebody? I...I’m so different now I hardly recognize myself.”

Lance gave a shuddered breath, unable to look at him any longer. “Maybe…” He let his train of thought trail off, but the words needed to be said. “Maybe it’s just. Not enough…”

The universe went silent, and Lance watched, actually able to see the moment Lotor’s heart break. For a moment, Lance could have sworn there were tears in his eyes, but he must have been hallucinating. Lotor didn’t cry, had never cried, not around him. “What are you saying?” Lotor asked, his voice a half step above a whisper. Lance clenched his jaw, staring at his toes. He didn’t know how to shape his mouth around the words. “Lance…” Lotor said, “Are you...breaking up with me?”

Lance flinched at the word, but knew what he had to do. “Yeah...I think...I think I am…”

Lotor might have been stabbed with how shocked he looked. He shook his head, long hair waving with the movement, “No...no, Lance,” He stepped forward, grabbing Lance’s arms, “Lance don’t do this. We can work this out, have as many conversations and talks as you want.” His fingers dug into Lance’s skin, “I’ll do whatever you want me to, please just don’t--”

“You’re hurting me!” Lance half shouted as the claws digging into his arm became unbearable. 

Lotor released him, backing away like Lance’s skin was made of fire. Lance caught a quick look of horror on his face before he turned around, walking to the other side of the room, and hiding from Lance. 

Lance rubbed the hurt marks on his arm. The pain would pass in minutes, but leave a couple marks, probably. “Lotor...I’m...I’m sorry. I am, but--”

“Get out.”

It was said so quietly Lance nearly missed it. He took a sigh, “Lotor--”

“I said get out!” Lotor turned on him, no more shock, no more sadness, only pure, white rage. “You want to leave, so go! GET OUT!”

Lance froze a moment, not to argue, but simply too shocked to move. Lotor remedied this, grabbing the one plant on his cabinet (the sex eater) pulling it out of its forcefield and tossing it, pot and all, at Lance.

Lance ducked just in time, and ran out the door and down the hall.

 

Inside, Lotor stood alone in his room. It felt like the moment should be bigger, when your entire life falls around you. The walls should shake, the air go out of the room. Instead he was just left there, having lost his last connection in the universe. 

He felt something on his cheek. Touching it, he felt a droplet of water. A tear? He hadn’t cried since he was a child.

The plant twitched on the ground, its pot smashed and dirt spread across the floor. Lotor snarled at it, all his emotions turned on one dying plant. He lifted his foot and squished it until all squirming had stopped.

 

“Whoa, he threw a plant at you?” Hunk said the next morning, making breakfast as Lance sat on the counter, his eyes still kind of puffy. He had gone straight to Hunk’s room and cried himself to sleep as Hunk hugged him and gave him reassurances. When morning came, though, he had to tell Hunk what had happened. 

Lance sighed, eating the spare dough from the muffins Hunk was currently baking. They were bright orange, but tasted like chocolate chip. “If he really wanted to hurt me, he wouldn’t have missed,” Lance said. He froze, then shook his head, “And I’m STILL defending him. Why do I do this?”

He sulked, a spoonful of orange dough in his mouth. “Well, its like you said,” Hunk said, flipping the alien bacon, “Someone’s got to.”

“Do they, though?” Lance asked. “Quiznak….you all warned me...repeatedly warned me what kind of guy he was. I’m expecting Pidge to walk in any second with a big ‘I told you so’ banner.”

“Pidge won’t do that,” Hunk said, moving the bacon to plates. “And….for the record….I think we were wrong about him.”

Lance frowned at him, swallowing a spoonful of dough. “Seriously?” Lance said, “I finally admit he’s a manipulative bastard who wanted to use me like you all said, and NOW you switch positions?”

Hunk had the audacity to smirk. “Well, truth be told I’ve been thinking it for a while. But this whole Chekosh situation really sealed the deal.” Lance stared at him like he grew a second head. “I’m not saying what he did to Chekosh wasn’t wrong, it was, and he still needs to make up for it.” Lance pouted. “But the way he feels for you is different than Chekosh.”

Lance tried desperately to squash that damn bit of hope in his chest, but it clung there, stubborn as he was. “How do you know?”

“You saw Chekosh yesterday,” Hunk said, using mittens to pull the muffins out of the oven, “It was like he dropped out of a romance novel with the way he mooned over Lotor.” Lance shrunk in on himself, remembering, “But romance novels aren’t real. No one is as perfect as the Lotor that Chekosh is in love with. You have never said that he’s perfect. When he does something wrong, you’re one of the first to call him out on it.” Hunk put the pan down to cool, looking over at Lance and smiling. “I’ve seen you fall for someone without thinking, too, and this doesn’t look like that to me either. Everytime you’ve defended him, you thought it out, and you were in the right.” He turned back to the muffins, inspecting them to see if they were cooked properly, “It’s not wrong to defend the people you love.

Lance gawked at him. “L-Lo--” he couldn’t even say the word. “I--I never said I--I LOVE him,”

Hunk smiled over the muffins at him. “Didn’t have to buddy. I know you almost as well as you know Lotor. With some rather intimate exceptions.”

Lance gaped...thinking to himself. “No, I--I can’t be in LOVE with him….” he said, “He’s...I mean...he’s not a good person. Like, he told me to my face he doesn’t care about people.”

“Well,” Hunk said, “but, he’s not really a BAD person either. He still wants to help us to defeat Zarkon, the biggest example of Evil capitol E I’ve ever met. And he might not care to spend time with people other than you, but, he’s never shown any signs of enjoying suffering or cruelty. Didn’t he also say as part of what he’d do as emperor would be to free the slaves?”

“Yeah, free them so they could JOIN the empire…” Lance said. “But imagine all that happens, him becoming emperor and all, and then it doesn’t go the way Lotor thinks and…” He swallows… “What if...what if Lotor turns out just like his father?”

Hunk leaves the muffins, turning to face him exactly as he turned serious, searching Lance’s eyes. “Do you think he will?”

Lance bit his lip. “I don’t know. And that….that scares me.”

Hunk took a big breath, taking the matter seriously. “Alright, listen close for a second because I’m about to get philosophical. We ALL have potential to turn evil, even as evil as Zarkon. But we have a choice--THE choice--to do good when presented with the option. You and I made that choice when we decided to help Shiro in that Garrison tent, and we’ve been making that same choice to help ever since. Lotor…..is a bit more mixed bag. But he’s definitely done some good things, even for the wrong reasons. And maybe, being around other good people like us, he’s...learning. He certainly hasn’t done anything like what he did to Chekosh since he’s been with you.”

Lance took a deep sigh, tapping his leg. “But...shouldn’t he be doing good things….because he wants to be good? Not for anyone, and certainly not for me.”

Hunk leaned against him, a comforting line of warmth. “I don’t know, buddy. Motivations are...hard to figure out. You’re not in someone else’s head. And even then, you might not always understand your own motivations. It’s...it’s tricky, which is kinda why you gotta base stuff on actions. Does he act ‘good’?”

Lance bit his lip. “I...don’t know.”

Hunk wrapped an arm around him to give him a squeeze. “Look….I don’t have the answers, really, just was noting some observations. You can’t make him change, he has to do that for himself. All you can do is….focus on your own choices. Focus on what you can control.”

“Like breaking up with him?” Lance suggested. 

Hunk shrugged. “Whatever you decide, you know I’ll back you 1000%. And, I’ll have muffins ready.” He plucked one of the muffins out of the pan, still a bit too warm to eat, and handed it to his friend. Lance smirked, enjoying the warmth on his hands. 

Just when he was trying to decide if he should risk taking a bite anyway, Matt ran into the kitchen. “Control room. Now!” He said, about to run out again.

“Whoa, wait!” Hunk called, “What’s happened?”

“Lotor’s ship’s gone missing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this whole fight was originally going to end up in the last installment of the series, but I ended up scrapping most of what I had planned for that, and have cannibalized my favorite parts over the series as a whole. I think I like the new ending I have planned better. 
> 
> If you are sad, I am very sorry, but do notice the tags of this fic. I believe in happy endings.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor does something kinda stupid but the paladins are there to help him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOOOOO I KEPT THIS TO THREE CHAPTERS!!!!!!
> 
> Sorry no smut but sometimes ya gotta plot it up. 
> 
> Hope this is satisfactory. Please don't kill me.

“How the hell did he get to his ship?” Allura asked, crowded over Pidge’s console as Lance, Hunk, and Matt ran in. “I thought you had it on lockdown?

“I DID,” Pidge said, typing furiously, “He must have taken down my security measures.”

“So fast?” Allura said.

“It might not have been recently,” Matt said, “Hell, he might have broken through our security the minute we put it up, he just didn’t have a reason to use it until now.”

Lance hugged his arms in on himself. “This is all my fault….”

“Hey, hey, none of that,” Hunk said, holding his arm, “C’mon, we still have the comet tracker, it should be able to locate his ship.” He went to his own console bringing up the screen. Lance leaned on him for comfort. “Looks like….he’s...Down on Paquador?!”

Pidge grimaced, “Of course he is. They’re all devoted to him, they’ll probably give him a quiznaking army.”

Lance shrank in on himself at the idea of Paquador….the idea of Lotor going back to Chekosh….

He shook his head of the thought. He broke up with Lotor he didn’t have the right to be jealous. 

“If he is building an army…” Shiro said, “We have to stop him. We go in, and destroy the Sentry factory.”

Lance winced again. The thought of fighting….against Lotor….it didn’t feel right. 

“Alright,” Allura said, “You all go to the factory, be prepared to fire on it, but don’t do anything until I give you the signal.” She stood up straight, “I’m going to go confront Lotor.”

“Take me with you,” Lance said, straightening up as well. 

Allura stared him down, considering. 

“Lance….” Hunk said, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea…”

“Definitely not,” Shiro said, “We don’t want to provoke him.”

Lance didn’t look at them, didn’t even bother arguing against them. Just stared at Allura, waiting for her response.

She sighed, “Fine.”

“WHAT?” Shiro, Pidge, Matt, and Hunk all shouted, but Lance was already heading to the Red Paladin’s tube. 

 

On the planet, the town square was bustling with energy. Paquadorans of every size and color were yelling at one another, shouting over each other, and more than one getting in each other’s faces, even pushing each other, and though it hadn’t yet devolved into full on fights. 

“Oh my,” Allura said, looking up, above the heads of the crowd. Lance followed her gaze. 

The statue of Lotor, which had been immaculate when they had left yesterday, was now covered in stains from food that had been tossed at it. At least, Lance thought it was food. 

As they watched, ropes went up around the statue, and several large red Paquadorans pulled it down, Lotor’s smiling image shattering on the ground. Lotor’s eyes went wide. “I see Lotor’s return didn’t go well.” Lance was suddenly worried for Lotor instead of about him.

“You!” a voice made it over the crowd, attracting their attention. They were able to see Chekosh, standing on a rock, staring directly at the pair of paladins, and pointing angrily at Lance. “It’s you! You’re the one, you stole the Grand Superior from me!” 

The attention in the square turned to Lance, quieting for a moment. Allura stepped forward in between them and Lance, protective. “Excuse me,” she said sternly, “What exactly is going on he--”

“He didn’t steal him!” An angry old Yellow Paquadoran shouted, “The Grand Superior tricked you! And all the rest of you! I said for years never to trust an outsider--”

“Oh, shut up,” A young woman Red Paquadoran shouted back, “You knew nothing of the sort! You bowed down to a factory worker like a pataq!”

She gestured angrily at Chekosh, who was looking nervous in the surrounding crowd. 

“I--” He tried to speak over the crowd but was drowned out. 

“He’s nothing!” Another shouted, “We should never have listened to him! Just another Galra’s Whore!”

“I never claimed to be Grand Superior!” Chekosh said, “I never--NEVER disgraced the ancestors thinking I could possibly--”

“Get him out of here!” They all started shouting.

“Send him back to his kind!”

“Or better yet, take him out!” 

The crowd started advancing on Chekosh. “Lance,” Allura said sharply.

“Right,” He answered, not needing the full command. He took out his rifle and shot several shots into the air to get attention back on themselves. Allura used her whip to clear a pathway to Chekosh, while Lance shadowed her, using his rifle to keep everyone at bay. “To the palace,” He said, and Allura nodded, practically lifting Chekosh and carrying him away to safety. 

Once they barred the gates, sealing themselves inside, Allura turned on Chekosh. “Alright, what the Quiznak is going on?”

Chekosh sent a poisonous look at Lance before turning back to Allura. “Late last night, the Grand….Lotor came to us. He...he told me his love for me was a lie! That he had manipulated the events of our freedom so that we’d make him Grand Superior, and manufactured our relationship to leave me in charge!”

Lance blinked. He hadn’t thought when he yelled at Lotor that he would actually come clean.

“I….see…”Allura said, “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

“Oh don’t act like you didn’t know!” He snarled at them. “He told me about staying on your ship, being with…” he turned to Lance, “being with YOU.” Lance gulped, feeling guilty despite having done nothing wrong. “And now my whole planets turned into chaos.”

“Where is Lotor?” Lance asked, surprising even himself with how concerned he was. 

Chekosh scoffed. “In the dungeon where I left him. He…” Chekosh trailed off, like the words were too ridiculous to say.

“He what?” Allura asked. 

Chekosh ran his tongue along his tusk, thinking. “He...tried to abdicate, and named me successor.

Allura and Lance exchanged a look. “What’s wrong with that?” Allura continued. 

“You don’t understand. I CAN’T be Grand Superior on my own! I wasn’t built for this, raised for this...I don’t know…”

Allura took a deep sigh, “This is going to be some serious mental encouragement, give me a minute, will you?” Chekosh looked confused, but Allura treated that as affirmation and turned to Lance. “I’ll call in the others to help, but you go out and start trying to get that crowd in order, as peacefully as possible.”

“But--” Lance started, but Allura was talking over him.

“As soon as we have this mess figured out we can get the Lotor mess figured out, alright? He’s not going anywhere.”

Reluctantly, he nodded and headed out.

 

Lotor hadn’t been in a prison cell in a long time. Galra prisons were the worst, by far, but a few came close. Paquadoran cells weren’t too bad, a little utulitarian, but it had decent amenities. A bed, a weird tube Lotor was pretty sure was a toilet. He’d chatted the guard up enough to get a book to read to spend his hours, and after a first mistake, he’d managed to get meals in slightly larger portions. 

He was trying to do the right thing, but he was still a Prince. 

The only thing was, his meal was supposed to come about 5 dobashes ago. Maybe they were running late, but Lotor had the feeling this was something else. 

“Well, this feels familiar,” A voice he knew all too well said. “Except last time our positions were reversed, weren’t they?”

Lotor smiled, not looking up from his book yet, “Last time we were both in prison.”

“Oh, right,” Acxa said, stepping into his view. “And Narti got us out.”

Lotor looked at her, decked out in her Marmora outfit. “Have you come to my rescue?”

“Mmm….” she said, “Not quite. Keith got a message, asking me to come and to pretend to give a message from you to Paquador, and I got….curious.” She smirked, knowingly at him. “I told you faking a marriage would blow up in your face.”

Lotor sighed, closing his book. “You did,” he swiveled to face her, “And as usual, you were right in ways I could never have predicted.”

“Mmhmm,” She said leaning on the bars of his cell, “Though I admit, this went far more terrible than I could have predicted. What in the universe made you decide to ADMIT what you’d done to Chekosh?”

Lotor groaned and lay back. “A sudden desire to be altruistic.”

“And how’s that going so far?”

“It fucking sucks.” He said, forgoing all manner of formality. 

Acxa laughed, “This is about that paladin boy, isn’t it?” Lotor turned to the side, refusing to answer. “I always wondered what it would look like if you actually ended up liking one of your little bedmates. Unless this is still part of your long game to get Allura on your side.”

“It’s not,” He snapped at her. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. “At least...not completely.”

She clicked her tongue, thinking. “You’re being oddly honest today.” He didn’t answer. “I thought honesty was ‘the fastest way to get you killed?’”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “And I thought you hated me?”

She smirked, but there was a sorrow in her eyes. She almost looked apologetic. Almost. “Ezor and Zethrid hate you,” She said, “And with two against one…”

“You went with the better odds,” He said, sighing. “I can’t say I don’t understand.”

“I should hope not, it’s what you taught me,” She said. “I am...still mad at you, though.”

Lotor clenched his jaw, “There wasn’t anything else I could do.”

“I understand that, now,” she said. “But you couldn’t have taken a tick to explain to us what was going on before murdering our friend?”

“Every tick wasted is--”

“An enemy’s opportunity, I know.” Acxa said, “I learned that lesson too.”

Lotor took a deep sigh, silently thinking of Narti again. What would she think of all this? “Why are you here?” He finally asked, knowing he hadn’t gotten the full answer yet.”

Acxa sighed, “I was hoping I’d get the chance to talk to you in private. I have a message, and it’s not the kind of thing I can say when Voltron’s around.” Lotor waited, not moving a single muscle. “It’s ready.”

THAT got him to sit up, stand up, and walk to the bars. She smirked, knowing that would get his attention. “Are you sure?” He said, knowing the area was secured, but not willing to risk being overheard just in case.

She nodded, “Sentries finished it a few days ago. It’s ready to go, IF you can get your damn machine working.” She tilted her head, “That is, if true love hasn’t taken over your priorities…”

“I’ll get it,” he said, nodding. “Well...I won’t, but you know what I mean.”

She smiled, “Told you it was a good idea to fill me in on things.”

“Yes, yes,” he admitted, reluctantly, “Now, I think my rescue’s coming, for real this time.”

“I suppose that’s my cue to leave, then,” She said, straightening up. “Good luck working things out with your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Lotor said, “He broke up with me.” the words hurt to say.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen you talk yourself out of worse.” He huffed, wanting to explain why it wouldn’t be so simple this time, but she was already gone.

 

Getting the mob under control was...not as peaceful as Allura may have been hoping for. But, no one was dead, so….win?

Lance just...had no patience for anyone’s problems. So Lotor lied to them, manipulating the entire planet to his will? Ha! That was Lance’s tuesday. If they had tuesdays in space. 

He sighed to himself. That was a bit too harsh against Lotor. God, his brain was doing an absolute roller coaster between worry and hatred for Lotor. It was driving him up the wall.

The other paladins coming in helped a lot. Together they managed to rally the mob into more of a crowd, and Allura was able to bring out Chekosh, newly invigorated with self confidence, to give a big speech, which got most, if not all the crowd, to accept him as Grand Superior. Lance sighed, listening to the speech. Lotor really did know how to pick ‘em. He really wanted to hate Chekosh, but...he couldn’t. 

“So,” Shiro said, as they gathered together, “Is that it? The rain’s starting to pick up again.” 

“Allura’s run in the palace to get one last thing,” Hunk said, “She should be…”

He trailed off as, on cue, Allura stepped out of the palace gates…..Lotor in tow.

Lance felt a whole mixture of emotions, but honestly the strongest was relief. Lotor was there, and his eyes were on Lance and….and he felt split right down the middle. A part of him was pulling, begging him to go and run into Lotor’s arms. Another was trying to hold firm, reminding himself he had broken up with Lotor and he couldn’t just do that. 

Lotor’s eyes were soft, looking back at him. Soft and sad, the rain picking up around them to dampen his hair. 

When they got close enough, Allura addressed the others. “I managed to talk Chekosh into releasing him to us, but he’s banished from Paquador and forbidden a place on all Paquadoran ships.”

Lance barely heard him, still staring at Lotor, the tension between them growing until it felt tangible. Shiro cleared his throat, trying to ease it. “Well then...we can be on our way...right?” It didn’t work.

“Lance,” Lotor said, voice just above the sound of the rain, “May I...speak to you a moment?”

Lance hesitated. He knew if he was alone with Lotor he couldn’t think clearly. He needed his friends there to make sure he didn’t do something really really stupid. “Anything you have to say to me can be said to my friends.”

His friends in question did not seem thrilled about this deal. In fact, Allura just left, but Hunk, Shiro, and Pidge stayed. Lotor just looked heartbroken. “I know...I may never be the man you want me to be...the man you deserve.” He took a deep breath, “But something about you….makes me want to try.” His gaze falls, “Even if I can’t be with you while I make the attempt.”

Lance’s jaw twitched. “It’s not my job to be your moral compass.”

Lotor shook his head, his hair plastered to his head with the rain. “I’m not asking you to be. I’m not even asking for you back.” Lance felt a pang of sorrow, “If you want, I’ll leave,” the begging part of him shouted ‘no!’ in his head, “But...I may have all the wrong reasons, but a part of me will still want to be someone,” He looked back up, meeting Lance’s eyes, “Someone you can be proud of.”

He really, really, really wanted to do something dramatic and stupid, but he was smarter now. He looked over to his friends, trusting their judgement more than his own. 

Without needing to ask, Hunk understood him perfectly. He gave him a slight, proud, nod of approval. Beside him, Shiro sighed, looking between Lotor and Lance awkwardly. When he realized why Lance was looking at him, he nodded as well. After their reactions, Pidge understood what was silently being asked of her as Lance’s gaze found her eyes. 

She glared silently at Lotor, but her glare was more analytical than cruel. Whatever she was looking for, she did not find it, and so turned back to Lance. Slowly, she nodded as well. 

Lance took a step toward Lotor. And another, and another, and before he knew it he had run the short distance between them and leaped into his arms. Lotor barely managed to catch him as Lance connected their lips.

Lotor slowly lowered him to the ground, keeping them connected, so that he could tangle his fingers in Lance’s hair. Lance did the same to him, feeling the water droplets fall on them, the cool rain creating a world just for themselves. 

The other paladins watched, smiling to themselves. They had to admit, the pair was pretty adorable. 

Well, they thought that until it became a little overly clear Lance and Lotor had added tongue into the mix. Then it was kinda weird.

By the time Lotor’s hand started drifting downwards, clearly intent on groping Lance’s ass, Pidge had had enough, “OKAY, break it up, lovebirds,” she said, grabbing a loose branch with a lot of leaves and hitting them with it until they stopped kissing, “Save that shit for the bedroom, or at least somewhere no else can see you nasties.”

Lance and Lotor separated, but their hands were clasped together. Lance grinned, “A bedroom sounds….good.” He said, practically swooning as Lotor’s face lit up. “C’mon Boyfriend.”

Lotor was only too happy to follow.

 

They didn’t end up doing anything but lay together in bed, Lotor holding him close to his chest. “Is there anything I can do for you?” Lotor asked, his voice so quiet Lance felt more than heard the words. 

Lance shook his head, nuzzling against Lotor’s shirt. “Just hold me.”

Lotor’s hand pressed against Lance’s back. “Honestly, I’m not sure I can let go.”

Lance smiled. “I’m going to need to use the bathroom eventually.” Lotor froze, as though he had not considered this. “Not for a while.”

Lotor hummed happily, cradling Lance close. He kissed the top of his head. “Good.”

Lance took a deep breath. “Actually…” He said, looking up at Lotor, “There was….there was something I wanted to say…” Lotor’s face fell, watching in anticipation. Lance knew he had to speak quickly to reassure him, but once again, it was hard getting his mouth around the words. “I...I um.” he swallowed, making himself look into Lotor’s eyes. “I love you.”

Lotor’s eyes teared up for the second time in two days. He looked down at Lance like people looked at works of art. No, rather like they might look at their salvation. Slowly, he leaned down and captured Lance’s lips. “Say it again,” He asked, not even bothering to fully separate their lips. 

Lance smiled, “I love you,” he repeated.

He could feel the shudder go down Lotor’s back. “Again,”

“Lotor--” Lotor kissed him, stopping whatever protests he had. Lance sighed and Lotor released him. “I love you.”

Lotor peppered his face with kisses, hovering over him until Lance couldn’t stop giggling. Finally, he rested his forehead against his. “I love you too,” he said, “We’re in love.”

Lance melted, grabbing Lotor’s face, brushing his hair out of the way. “We’re in love,” he confirmed.

Lotor had a brief laugh, “I just thought….maybe your ‘rom coms’ ended up being more accurate after all.”

Lance grinned. “I’d call the last two days many things, ‘funny’ wouldn’t be one of them,” he said, “But...I like the happy ending part.”

Lotor kissed him again. “Me too.”

Lance giggled against his lips. A thought occurred to him and he froze. "You're not married to anyone else, right?"

Lotor grit his teeth avoiding Lance's gaze. Lance's heart sank, gripping Lotor's shoulders tightly "Lotor you--"

Lotor apparently couldn't hold in his smile any more. "You---you're kidding?"

"Well," Lotor said chuckling, "You wanted something funny."

Scrunching his face up, Lance attacked, rolling them over and mercilessly jabbing at Lotor's most sensitive places. Lotor lay back, cackling until they dissolved into making out yet again.

They spent the rest of the night tucked into each other's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayy! They love each other! But what???? Lotor and Acxa are planning something??? Anonony is setting up more plot things???? so close to season 5?????????
> 
> Yeah so this is clearly going to go into the au zone PRETTY fast but I'd like to do a few oneshots before going into the plot-filled finale. I promise to only break your heart a little. That's a lie, but it still ends happy. 
> 
> Anyway, if you guys have any ideas/prompts/whatever for oneshots, lemme know and I'll see what I can do. Probably nothing big but. yeah. whatever you got for me. I have 2 ideas so far, so we'll see what happens.


End file.
